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22 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. 1021 (1994-1995)
Beyond Black Demons & (and) White Devils: Antiblack Conspiracy Theorizing & (and) the Black Public Sphere

handle is hein.journals/flsulr22 and id is 1041 raw text is: BEYOND BLACK DEMONS & WHITE DEVILS: ANTIBLACK CONSPIRACY THEORIZING & THE BLACK PUBLIC SPHERE* REGINA AUSTIN* * I. INTRODUCTION We live in conspiratorial times.' Almost everyone has a favorite conspiracy theory or two. Even so, I suspect that, relative to other groups, black people espouse an inordinate number of conspiracy the- ories, most of which involve plots directed against them.2 Of course, black people bear more than their share of problems to theorize about and have more than their share of reasons to believe that their con- spiracy theories are true. Although blacks appear to be fairly quies- cent and uninterested in mass political protest, there is a great deal of activity at the level of social discourse in the form of antiblack con- spiracy theorizing. * © 1994, Regina Austin. Editor's Note: The author delivered an earlier version of this essay during the 1994 Mason Ladd Memorial Lecture Series at the Florida State University Col- lege of Law. Mason Ladd (1898-1980), A.B., Grinnell College 1920; J.D., University of Iowa, 1923; S.J.D., Harvard University, 1935; LL.D., Grinnell College, 1954, was Dean Emeritus at the Florida State University College of Law and at The University of Iowa. ** Professor, University of Pennsylvania Law School. B.A., 1970, University of Roches- ter; J.D., 1973, University of Pennsylvania. I want to thank Manthia Diawara, Vince Dolan, and the participants of the Cornell Law School faculty workshop on February 17, 1994 for their generous and helpful comments, and Palissa Kelly for her excellent research assistance. 1. On conspiracy theories in general, see JONATHAN VANKIN, CONSPIRACIES, COVER-UPS, AND CRIMEs (1991) (exploring a range of conspiracy theories held by Americans in general); Henri Astier, Americans and Conspiracy Theories, 261 CoNrEmP. REV. 169 (1992) (emphasizing the populist nature of conspiracy theorizing throughout American history); Robert Wernick, Don't Look Now-But All Those Plotters Might Be Hiding under the Bed, SMITHSONIAN, Mar. 1994, at 108 (recounting impact of imagined conspiracies on significant events in world history); Charles Paul Freund, America's Resort to Conspiracy Thinking, WASH. POST, Jan. 19, 1992, at Cl (discussing rise in conspiratorial thinking); Don Oldenberg, Conspiracies Lurking Every- where, L.A. TiMEs, Feb. 9, 1992, at E9 (attributing conspiratorial thinking to ordinary people, not just crackpots and paranoids); Morning Edition: Conspiracy Theories - Secret Elite or Just Paranoia?, (National Public Radio broadcast, Apr. 28, 1995) (describing American anti-elite and anti-Semitic conspiratorial thinking in the wake of the bombing of the federal building in Okla- homa City, Oklahoma). 2. Although I am black, I use the third person plural in referring to black people because my experiences are not necessarily exemplary of the experiences of others, particularly since black Americans differ according to class, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, geographical location, and country of birth or ancestry.

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